A method and article of manufacture for an automotive grille facing. Tracks or grooves are formed in the fins of a radiator grille on the exterior side of the grille. The track is adapted to receive an insert having a bead that fits within the groove.
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10. A radiator grille having a facing, comprising:
a single plate or one or more fin members formed from either a solid plate or from individual members bound together,
the solid plate or a fin has a groove,
a facing insert member having facing portion and a bead portion on one side that is substantially the same size and shape of the groove and,
the bead is inserted into the groove.
6. A method for applying a facing to a radiator grille, comprising the steps of:
providing a radiator grille comprised of a single plate and providing an insert member having a facing portion on one side of the insert member,
forming a groove in the radiator grille adapted to receive and retain the facing by forming the groove in a complementary size and shape to that of the bead, and,
inserting the bead into the groove.
1. A method for applying a facing to a radiator grille, comprising the steps of:
providing a radiator grille having fins and providing an insert member having a facing portion and a bead portion on opposite sides of the insert member,
forming a groove adapted to receive and retain the bead portion in one or more fins of the radiator grille, by forming the groove in a complementary size and shape to that of the bead, and,
inserting the bead into the groove.
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9. The method of
11. The radiator grille having a facing of
12. The radiator grille having a facing of
13. The radiator grille having a facing of
14. The radiator grille having a facing of
15. The radiator grille having a facing of
16. The radiator grille having a facing of
17. The radiator grille having a facing of
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This patent application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/479,673 filed on Jun. 18, 2003, entitled Grille Facing Method and Article of Manufacture, and incorporated herein.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This invention pertains to grille facings and more particularly to a method and article of manufacture for an automotive grille.
Grilles are typically constructed from aluminum, plastic or other rigid material as a number of parallel members or perhaps a cage or screen of members arranged in a decorative fashion. The grille may be placed in the opening surrounding an object in order to protect the object from physical intrusion, channel or deflect air flow, or simply to supply a decorative front for covering the object. In the case of an automotive vehicle an opening is formed about the radiator for a given model of vehicle. The grille is sized to fit within an opening of the subject radiator.
It may be desirable to a have a viewable exterior surface for the grille made from a different material than is the grille itself. Although the grille itself is made from plastic or aluminum it may be desirable to cover the front with a more attractive material, such as stainless steel. In the past there have been various methods to achieve an attractive grille, such as grinding the exterior surface of the individual members or the grille or using and adhesive to connect a facing to the grille.
FIGS. 3 and 3A-3B are cutaway side views of radiator grilles of embodiments of the present invention.
A method and construction for applying a facing to a vehicle radiator grille, the method includes the steps of providing a radiator grille having fins and an insert member having a bead. Tracks or grooves are formed in the fins of the radiator grille on the viewable exterior side of the grille, the side that is visible to persons at a distance from the vehicle. The track or groove is adapted to receive the bead, and the bead is inserted into the groove to retain the insert in the groove. The aggregate one or more facing inserts affixed to the radiator comprise the facing of the radiator grille.
A radiator grille is typically made of a number of parallel fin members held together in common on the rear side by one or more supporting members. Alternatively a grille and fins can be formed from a solid piece of material, a plate of aluminum or plastic for example, with slots being machined in the plate to form the fins.
The present invention includes forming a track or groove on the front face of one or more fins or billets. The insert has an insert track or bead portion to fit in the groove and an insert face portion. The groove is complementary to a facing insert, including its bead, and otherwise formed to receive the insert.
The grooves in the fins are typically extruded in the part as it is being made, without the need for machining. Alternatively the track or groove may machined into the front face side of a single plate. A stainless steel facing insert can be likewise extruded but is typically drawn on a wire machine.
After the groove is formed a complementary facing insert made of a desirable metal, such as stainless steel, is then inserted into the groove to on the face of the fin to finish the face. A length of facing insert having a complementary track or bead to the groove is slid into the groove. In the preferred embodiment the facing insert is then swedged into place by a roller that pinches or swedges. Staking will also work to place the facing insert into the groove.
The following description, and the figures to which it refers, are provided for the purpose of describing example(s) and specific embodiment(s) of the invention only and are not intended to exhaustively describe all possible examples and embodiments of the invention. In the following various figures identical elements and features are given the same reference number, and similar or corresponding elements and features are or may be given the same reference numbers followed by an a, b, c, and so on as appropriate for purposes of describing the various embodiments of the present invention.
The present invention discloses a method and construction for applying a facing to an a automotive radiator grille. Referring now to
Alternatively a grille can be formed from a solid piece of material (18 in
The present invention includes forming a track or groove 15 on the front face 17 of one or more fins or billets 13 of a grille 11, as shown in
It is to be understood that the present invention is not be limited to simple parallel arrangements of aluminum fins however, which are presented herein by way of example and not as a limitation. The same method can be used to produce grilles made of other materials, such as plastic or other metals, and further used to produce grilles with facings forming any design, such as aluminum shapes and filigrees. A plastic grille, for example, could be formed to have a groove to accept a complex design incorporating a stainless steel facing insert.
After the groove 15 is formed a complementary facing insert 19, made of a desirable metal, such as stainless steel, is then inserted into the groove to on the face of the fin to finish the face. A length of facing insert 19, shown at
In this manner the fins may be made of one metal, for example aluminum, and the facing insert may be made of a more desirable material, for example stainless steel. Therefore instead of finishing the face 17 by grinding, polishing or other manner, it is finished by inserting a length of the facing insert into the groove of each fin.
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